Connector for tent pole

ABSTRACT

A connector for connecting tent poles has a tubular body and a plurality of insert poles connected radially to the body and inserted into one end of the tent pole. A plurality of tap holes are formed along a periphery of the body at an interval and an external screw portion corresponding to the tap hole is formed on one end of the insert pole, so that the insert pole is screw-engaged to the tap hole. According to the invention, the tent poles are connected to the connector via the insert poles without being directly connected to the connector. Accordingly, it is possible to minimize the size and the weight of the connector and to prevent the tent pole from being damaged at the connection region with the connector when the bending stress is applied to the region.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims all benefits of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2005-66623, filed on Jul. 22, 2005 in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosures of which is incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a connector for connecting a plurality of tent poles, and more particularly to a connector capable of minimizing a weight and preventing a tent pole from being damaged at a connection region with the connector.

2. Background of the Related Art

In general, a tent forms a dome shape having a certain volume made by assembling waterproof fabrics and a plurality of tent poles, so that it provides a user with a space in which the user can temporarily reside out of doors during the mountain climbing or camping.

When assembling the tent, a connector is often used to easily connect the tent poles. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a tent assembled with a connector according to the prior art.

As shown in FIG. 1, a general tent forms a dome shape having a certain volume by allowing a main body 1 comprised of waterproof fabrics to be expanded in all directions by a plurality of tent poles 2 having flexibility and rigidity. The main body 1 is provided with a plurality of clips 3 formed along an outer ridgeline thereof at an interval. Each of the tent poles 2 is connected with a connector 4 at one end thereof with being inserted into the clips 3, and another end thereof is fixed at a lower edge of the main body coming in contact with the ground, so that the tent poles 2 are bended in an arch shape to form the main body 1 into the dome shape. The main body 1 is tightly unfolded in all directions by elastic restoring forces of the tent poles 2 bended in the arch shape, thereby maintaining its dome shape.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the prior connector 4 comprises a doughnut-shaped body 4 a having a plurality of insertion holes 4 b formed along a periphery thereof at equal heights. The tent poles 2 are connected to the connector 4 through the insertion holes 4 b in a radial shape. When the tent pole 2 is bended with the end of the tent pole 2 being inserted into the insertion hole 4 b, the end of the tent pole 2 is trapped inclinedly to an inner edge of the insertion hole 4 b, so that the tent pole is not separated from the connector 4.

However, according to the connector 4 of the prior art, since bending stress is intensively applied to a connection region (“A” in FIG. 3) of the tent pole 2 and the connector 4, the tent pole 2 is frequently damaged at the region.

In addition, according to the connector 4 of the prior art, the tent pole 2 is directly inserted into the insertion holes 4 b of the connector 4. Accordingly, as the number of the connected tent poles 4 is increased, a diameter of the connector 4 should be correspondingly increased and thus a weight of the connector 4 is also increased.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, the present invention has been made to solve the above problems. An object of the present invention is to provide a connector for a tent pole capable of preventing a tent pole from being damaged at a connection region of a tent pole and the connector and minimizing a weight increase even when the plurality of tent poles are connected.

In order to achieve the above object, there is provided a connector for connecting a plurality of tent poles constituting a frame of a tent, the connector having a tubular body and a plurality of insert poles connected radially to the body and inserted into one end of the tent pole. A plurality of tap holes are formed along a periphery of the body at an interval and an external screw portion corresponding to the tap hole is formed on one end of the insert pole, so that the insert pole is screw-engaged to the tap hole. According to the above connector for the tent pole, since the tent pole is connected to the connector through the insert hole without being directly connected to the connector, it is possible to minimize a size and a weight of the connector and to prevent the tent pole from being damaged at a connection region with the connector when bending stress is applied to the region.

According to an embodiment of the invention, an enlarged portion having a large diameter may be formed on one end of the tent pole into which the insert pole is inserted. In this case, the insert pole has an outer diameter corresponding to an inner diameter of the enlarged portion. Like this, when the end of the tent pole is formed with the enlarged portion, since an inertia moment can be increased at the connection region with the insert pole, it is possible to prevent the tent pole from being damaged when the bending stress is applied, more positively.

Specifically, sizes of the enlarged portion and the insert pole are preferably made such that the inertia moment of the insert pole is 65˜130% of inertia moment of the enlarged portion.

In the mean time, according to another embodiment of the invention, the insert poles may be arranged to the body in two or more rows in a vertical direction. By doing so, since it is possible to minimize a diameter increase of the body when connecting the tent poles with the connector, the weight increase of the whole connector can be minimized.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be more apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a tent assembled with a connector for a tent pole according to the prior art;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a connector for a tent pole according to the prior art;

FIG. 3 is a transverse sectional view of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a connector for a tent pole according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a transverse sectional view of FIG. 4; and

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a connector for a tent pole according to another embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following description of the present invention, a detailed description of known functions and configurations incorporated herein will be omitted when it may make the subject matter of the present invention rather unclear.

As shown in FIG. 4, a connector 10 for a tent pole according to an embodiment of the invention has a tubular body 11 and a plurality of insert poles 12 connected radially to a periphery of the body 11. An outer diameter of the insert pole 12 is made to be smaller than an inner diameter of a tent pole 20. Each of the insert poles 12 is inserted into one end of the tent pole 20, so that the plurality of tent poles 20 are radially connected to each other through the connector 10. In FIG. 4, it is shown that the connector 10 is provided with the four insert poles 12 and the four tent poles 20 are connected to the connector 10. However, it should be noted that the number of the insert poles 10 is not limited thereto and can be increased or decreased based on the number of the tent poles 20 to be connected.

For the connection of the body 11 and the insert poles 12, a plurality of tap holes 13 are formed along a periphery of the body 11 at an interval, and an external screw portion 12 a corresponding to the tap hole 13 are formed on one end of the insert pole 12. The external screw portion 12 a is screw-engaged to the screw hole 13 of the body 11, so that the body 11 and the insert pole 12 are connected to each other.

The tent pole 20 is connected to the connector 10 via the insert pole 12 without being directly connected to the body 11 of the connector 10, so that it is possible to reduce the whole size and thus the weight of the connector 10.

In the mean time, one end of the tent pole 20 into which the insert pole 12 is inserted is provided with an enlarged portion 21 having a diameter larger than the other portion. The insert pole 12 has an outer diameter equal to an inner diameter of the enlarged portion 21 or preferably smaller than an inner diameter of the enlarged portion 21 by about 0.1 mm so as to be easily inserted in the enlarged portion 21.

As shown in FIG. 5, the enlarged portion 21 is formed to have a length corresponding to that of the insert pole 12 at the end of the tent pole 20.

Like this, by forming the enlarged portion 21 at the end of the tent pole 20 for the connection with the insert pole 12, it is possible to relatively increase bending stiffness of the tent pole 20 at a connection region with the connector 10. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent the tent pole 20 from being damaged at the connection region even when the bending stress is applied to the tent pole 20.

An inertia moment in a tube such as the tent pole 20 and insert pole 12 is calculated by a following equation:

I=MR²

wherein, I is inertia moment, M is a mass, and R is an inner radius of tube.

As can be seen from the above equation, a magnitude of the inertia moment is proportional to the diameter of the tent pole 20 or insert pole 12. Accordingly, the inertia moment of the enlarged portion 21 of the tent pole 20 is larger than that of a non-enlarged portion 22 of the tent pole 20 or insert pole 12 having a diameter smaller than the diameter of the enlarged portion. Since a large inertia moment is meant by a large bending stiffness, the enlarged portion 21 has a larger bending stiffness, compared to the non-enlarged portion 22 and the insert pole 12.

Accordingly, it is possible to prevent the tent pole 20 from being damaged at the connection region with the connector 10, particularly at a “B” region of FIG. 5, even when the bending stress is applied to the tent pole 20.

In the mean time, as shown in FIG. 5, if an outer diameter of the external screw portion 12 a of the insert pole 12 is formed to be larger than that of the other portion, it is possible to prevent the insert pole 12 from being damaged at a “C” portion when the bending stress is applied.

Specifically, when determining a ratio of the inertia moments of the tent pole 20, the enlarged portion 21 and the insert pole 12, it is preferred that the inertia moment of the insert pole 12 is 80˜100% of the inertia moment of the tent pole 20 (i.e., inertia moment of the non-enlarged portion 22) and has a magnitude of 65% or more of the inertia moment of the enlarged portion 21.

Like this, the reason to determine the inertia moments of the tent pole 20 and the enlarged portion 21 based on the insert pole 12 is as follows: if the determination is made based on the non-enlarged portion 22 of the tent pole 20, the insert pole 12 is deficient in the inertia moment, so that the insert pole 12 may be damaged when the bending stress is applied.

Meanwhile, the reason why the ratio of the inertia moment of the insert pole 12 to the inertia moment of the enlarged portion 21 is made to be 65% or more is as follows: if a ratio is smaller than the above ratio, the insert pole 12 itself may be damaged when the bending stress is applied.

A following table shows an experimental example of determining the sizes of the tent pole 20, the enlarged portion 21 and the insert pole 12. In the experimental example, the tent pole 20 and the insert pole 12 were made of aluminum. Outer Inner Inertia Inertia diameter diameter Thickness Inertia moment moment (mm) (mm) (mm) moment ratio 1 (%) ratio 2 (%) Tent pole 9.00 7.80 0.600 140.3 85.1 71.6 Enlarged 9.50 8.30 0.600 166.8 portion Insert pole 8.20 6.76 0.720 119.4 Tent pole 10.25 9.05 0.600 212.4 86.3 73.0 Enlarged 10.80 9.60 0.600 250.8 portion Insert pole 9.50 8.15 0.675 183.2 (*inertia moment ratio 1: inertia moment of insert pole/inertia moment of tent pole; inertia moment ratio 2: inertia moment of insert pole/inertia moment of enlarged portion)

As can be seen from the table, in the case of the tent pole 20 having the outer diameter of 9 mm and the thickness of 0.6 mm, if the outer diameter of the enlarged portion 21 is made to be 9.5 mm and the insert pole 12 having the outer diameter of 8.2 mm and the thickness of 0.72 mm is employed, the ratio of the inertia moment of the insert pole 12 to the inertia moment of the enlarged portion 21 is 71.6%, and thus the damage of the tent pole 20 can be prevented.

In addition, when the outer diameter of the tent pole 20 is increased to 10.25 mm, it is possible to set the ratio of the inertia moment of the insert pole 12 to the inertia moment of the enlarged portion 21 at 73% by increasing the outer diameter of the enlarged portion 21 to 10.8 mm and employing the insert pole 12 having an outer diameter of 9.5 mm and a thickness of 0.675 mm.

Like this, as the outer diameter of the tent pole 12 is increased, it is possible to maintain the inertia moment ratio to about 65˜75% by increasing the outer diameters of the enlarged portion 21 and the insert pole 12. At this time, the thickness of the insert pole 12 is instead reduced. Accordingly, even when the outer diameter of the tent pole 20 is increased, the weight of the insert pole 12 may be scarcely increased.

In the mean time, the ratio of the inertia moment of the insert pole 12 to the inertia moment of the enlarged portion 21 may be practically about 130% at the maximum. In other words, in the case of the tent pole 20 having an outer diameter of 9 mm and a thickness of 0.6 mm and the enlarged portion having an outer diameter of 9.5 mm, if it is employed the insert pole having an outer diameter of 8.2 mm, it can be said that a practical thickness of the insert pole 12 is 1.6 mm, of which the inner diameter is 5 mm.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a connector according to another embodiment of the invention.

As shown in FIG. 6, the connector 30 according to this embodiment comprises a cylindrical body 31 and a plurality of insert poles 32 intersectingly connected to the body 31 in vertical directions. In other words, the body 31 is formed with a plurality of tap holes 33 intersectingly arranged in vertical directions.

With the connector 30, since the insert poles 32 are vertically arranged in two or more rows so that the tent poles can be connected, the tent poles can be connected without increasing a diameter of the body 31. Accordingly, the weight increase of the connector 30 can be minimized.

In the above embodiments, although it has been shown the body 11, 31 having a cylindrical shape, the body is not limited thereto and may be formed into various tubular shapes having a polygonal section such as quadrangle, triangle and the like.

As described above, according to the invention, the tent pole is connected to the connector via the insert pole without being directly connected to the cylindrical body. Accordingly, it is possible to minimize the size and the weight of the connector and to prevent the tent pole from being damaged at the connection region with the connector when the bending stress is applied to the tent pole.

Further, according to the invention, the one end of the tent pole into which the insert pole is inserted is formed with an enlarged portion having a large diameter, so that the damage of the tent pole due to the bending stress can be prevented, more positively.

While the invention has been shown and described with reference to certain preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. 

1. A connector for connecting a plurality of tent poles constituting a frame of a tent, the connector comprising: a tubular body; and a plurality of insert poles connected radially to the body and inserted into one end of the tent pole.
 2. The connector according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of tap holes are formed along a periphery of the body at an interval and an external screw portion corresponding to the tap hole are formed on one end of the insert pole, and the insert pole is screw-engaged to the tap hole.
 3. The connector according to claim 1, wherein an enlarged portion having a large diameter is formed on one end of the tent pole into which the insert pole is inserted, and the insert pole has an outer diameter corresponding to an inner diameter of the enlarged portion.
 4. The connector according to claim 3, wherein sizes of the enlarged portion and the insert pole are made such that an inertia moment of the insert pole is 65˜130% of an inertia moment of the enlarged portion.
 5. The connector according to claim 1, wherein, the insert poles are arranged to the body in at least two rows in a vertical direction. 